General pension advice

smc4761

I am hoping to retire on my 65th birthday about 6 months away, so time to get a bit more serious about my pension.

I have a very general idea about how to use my DC pension, but the more i look into it the more confusing it gets. Why does it have to be so complex

I have narrowed my options down to either a fixed term annuity, though happy to consider a lifetime annuity or drawdown

I am fairly risk averse  and have several medical conditions, which would mean I would probably receive and enhanched annuity, type 1 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholestorol. This is therefore guiding me towards an annuity.

I have recived some figures from MyPensionExpert.com and they are quoting annual charges of 1.28%  Does that seem reasonable ?

Finally it was intention to take the full 25% tax free of my pension pot and then take the annuity. However after spending the past few days watching numerous Youtube videos from financial planners, I am now more confused than ever as some say take the 25%, others saying dont.

Pension pot is approx £125k.

Just looking for general advice regarding the annuity charges and general advice from anyone who has similarish circumstances, just to give me slightly less confusing picture

I have also made an appointment with PensionWise for next week  

Thanks in advance

DRS1

Annual charges for what?

If you are going for an annuity you shouldn't be paying any annual charges.

If you are going for drawdown then there may be annual investment charges like a platform fee and dealing charges but they don't usually get up to 1.28%.  Are they giving ongoing advice?

If you go for a fixed term annuity what will you do when that expires?  Are you going for one with a maturity value?  Or are you going to rely on the state pension?

xylophone

Have you checked your state pension forecast?

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

dunstonh

I have narrowed my options down to either a fixed term annuity, though happy to consider a lifetime annuity or drawdown

I am fairly risk averse  and have several medical conditions, which would mean I would probably receive and enhanched annuity, type 1 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholestorol. This is therefore guiding me towards an annuity.

A fixed term annuity would not seem like a risk averse option compared to a lifetime annuity.

I have recived some figures from MyPensionExpert.com and they are quoting annual charges of 1.28%  Does that seem reasonable ?

It depends on the context.   What service are they offering?   (it sounds like drawdown as ongoing charges dont apply to annuities)

Finally it was intention to take the full 25% tax free of my pension pot and then take the annuity. However after spending the past few days watching numerous Youtube videos from financial planners, I am now more confused than ever as some say take the 25%, others saying dont.

If you have watched a video on youtube from a financial planner that has said not to take the tax free cash with an annuity, then you should report them to the FCA.

However, I suspect they didn't say that, and you have taken it out of context or missed the context.

Just looking for general advice regarding the annuity charges and general advice from anyone who has similarish circumstances, just to give me slightly less confusing picture

Have you sought advice from an adviser?  A real one and not a virtual or pretend one?
And note that you havent told us anywhere near enough to know if circumstances are similar to yours.

Pension pot is approx £125k.

What else do you have? 
for example, if you also have £500,000 in the bank then what is best will be different to if you have just £5000 in the bank.

Albermarle

Finally it was intention to take the full 25% tax free of my pension pot and then take the annuity

The usual way is to use the whole pot, and the annuity provider sends you the 25% tax free as part of the process of setting up the annuity.
It is simpler this way than you taking the 25% first and then buying an annuity with the rest. It can be done this way but AFAIK, it is not the standard way.